Garment display means



Dec. 1, 1942 l. J. sHA ARMAN I 3 5 GARMENT DI SPLAY MEANS Filed May 12, 1941 2 SheetsSheet'l Baa Jzqfarmfa,

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Dec. 1, 1942. J. SHAFARMAN I v GARMENT DISPLAY MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 12, i941 Patented Dec. 1, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,303,585 GARMENT DISPLAY MEANS Isaac J. Shafarman, Cleveland, Ohio Application May 12, 1941, Serial No. 393,113

3 Claims.

7, This invention relates to garment hangers and.

more particularly to improved means for displaying in a show-window, salesroom or other place, womens apparel, for example, one-piece dresses, in an attractive and pleasing manner in near simulation of the garment as actually worn.

The principal object of the invention is to provide for supporting and hanging the garment with the jacket portion or bodice relieved of the direct Weight and strain thereon of the skirt or nether portion of the garment, with the further provision for bust projection or uplift effect of the jacket portion or bodice to produce a silhouetted contour or profile of the same so as to give to the eye the general idea of the particular design and form of the garment as Worn naturally or with conventional or special appliances on the person.

A further object is to provide a simple and inexpensive, yet practical and highly efficient device for the purpose of the invention. l

Another object is to provide for utilization with the device of the present invention an embodiment ofthe salient and advantageous features of the device of the inventors prior United States Patent No. 2,014,299, granted September 10, 1935.

With the foregoing and other objects and advantages to be attained, as will later more fully appear, the invention consists broadly in the novel general structure and application of the display device, and in the parts and combinations and'arrangements of parts as hereinafter described and afterwards set forth with particularity in appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating some practical embodiments of the invention Figure 1 is a front elevational view showing a dress on a supporting and hanging device applied in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the same garment to which the device is applied as in Figure 1;

, Figure 3 is a rear elevational view of the same mounted garment;

Figure 4 is a face view of the form body element detached and in its original, flattened, knockdown condition;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view, on an enlarged scale and in partial cross-section and edge elevation, of the form body element shown in Figure 4, but with the bust extender portion bent and set perpendicularly and thus locked for use as applied in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the form body element with the bust extender portion set up for use as in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the form body element as shown in Figurefi; I f Figure 8 is a fragmentary face view of the upper portion of a modification of the form body element in its original, flattened, knockdown condition;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the form body element shown in Figure 8, with the bust extender portion set up for use;

Figure 10 is a top plan view of the form body element as shown in Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary face view of a further modification of the form body element in its original, flattened, knockdown condition; s

Figure 12 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the form body element shown in Figure 11, with the bust extender portion set up Figure 15 is a fragmentary edge elevational view of the form body element, showing the applied detachable bust extender element in end view.

Referring now to the drawings and, first, more particularly to Figures 1 to '7, inclusive, the numeral I designates a practical form body element for use in carrying out the present invention, the same being made of a sheet of cardboard, fiberboard or other suitable material possessing the requisite form-retentive qualities.

As shown, the element l is made'of comparatively thin gauge, but inherently stiff yet bendable material and generally flattened throughout, with a straight bottomedge 2 and curvilinear, recesed, opposite side marginal portions 3 pro- Vldll'lg a reduced neck portion 4 between its ends. This element is placed either inside the dress or outside at the back thereof, with the neck portion 4 of the element coinciding with the waist portion of the garment, and the belted portion or material of the garment in the immediate region of the waist line is folded over the rear face of the element at opposite sides thereof, as at 5, and drawn tightly across the front, as at B, and then pinned or otherwise securely fastened at the Waist line to the element, as indicated at 1 in Figures 1 and 3.

In carrying out the invention, the form body element I, with the dress mounted thereon, is either directly or otherwise supported with vertical adjustment on a conventional display stand or else suspended by a vertically adjustable and preferably flexible connection to an ordinary garment hanger such as illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, and comprising a curved and slightly arched cross bar 8 for supporting the shoulder portions 9 of the jacket portion or bodice III of the garment, the hanger being provided with the usual hook member II by which it can be obviously suspended from a supporting bar or rack or a special display stand or fixture, as the case may be. In this connection, it is noted that the hanger bar 8 may be of any other regular shape or the hanger may be of the conventional wire type. So, too, it may obviously be an integral part of a conventional display stand.

The form body element I, as shown, is attached with vertical adjustment to the base of the hook member II of the hanger adjacent the middle portion of the shoulder bar 8 by a stout cord I2, or, obviously, a tape, either of which is preferably provided at one end with a rubber eyelet or grommet-like element I3 to slip over and be frictionally held on the hook member I I', the opposite end of the cord or tape I2 being attached to a conventional, apertured, adjusting slide I4, through which the cord or tape I2 is slidably threaded, the portion of the cord or tape between its attached end and that portion which is slidably threaded through the slide being looped as at Ma and threaded freely slidable through an aperture I5 in an ear I6 produced from a cut part of the form body element I. By this flexible and adjustable connection between the form body element I and the hanger hook member II, as just above described, said element I may be raised and lowered, at will, in suspension from the hanger and to such a degree that the secured waist portion of the garment on the form body element may be held slightly lifted with respect to the hanger shoulder bar 8 by the adjusted and tautened cord or tape I2, so that the entire weight and strain ofthe skirt portion ll of the dress is carried by the suspended form body element I and the jacket portion or bodice I is relieved of all weight and strain except a part of that of itself alone which is carried by its shoulder portions 9 on the hanger bar 8.

By thus hanging the jacket portion or bodice of the garment on the hanger bar 8 and relieving that part of'the garment from the pulling and posed thereon, a neat and graceful draping and natural form display of the jacket portion or bodice I0 of the garment is attainable. In this connection, if a full blousing effect of the jacket portion or bodice I0 is desired, it is only necessary adjacent waist portion of the garment to the neck portion of said element I.

Either of the above noted display effects in the jacket portion or bodice I0 of the garment can be attained by the use of the display device of the inventors prior Patent No. 2,014,299, hereinbefore referred to, but the improvement brought about by the device of the present invention has the additional advantage of further enhancing the attractiveness and sales value of the display in that provision is made for bust extension of the jacket portion or bodice of the garment with a close simulation of natural form as when the garment is worn or as heretofore produced in display by the use of the bulky, cumbersome and more expensive molded or otherwise created and 1 manufactured display forms or manikins.

For the above noted purpose the form body element I may be provided with a bust extender member I8 at or adjacent its upper end, preferably as a foldable, integral, portion scored along its base line I9 (see Figure 4) for easy folding without breaking, the constituent material, the marginal portion of the member or leaf I8 so provided being curvilinear with a middle recess 20 providing a pair of rounded and tapered bust form portions proper 2| which are forwardly projected when the member or leaf I8 is bent along the scored base line I8 and set perpento loosen the jacket portion or bodice III of the garment sufliciently to impose only a part of its own Weight on its shoulder portions 9 which are supported directly on the hanger bar 8, some of the weight of the jacket portion or bodice I0 at the lower part thereof being carried by the form. body element I because of the attachment of the" dicularly or substantially at a right angle to the form body element I when the latter is applied in the hanging of the garment as hereinbefore described.

In its folded set up position the bust extender member. or leaf ,I8 is held by a foldable locking ear 22 formed by a cutting operation simultaneously and coincident with that in formation of the first herein described apertured ear I6 and as an integral part with the same. This locking ear 22 is formed with a forward marginal notch 23 which engages the curved edge portion 24 of the opening 25 in the body material fromwhich the ear 22 is folded at right angles to the ear I6 and the immediately adjacent portion of the form body element I on vertical scored lines. This notched ear 22, when the bust extender member or leaf I8 is set in operative position as shown more clearly in Figures 5, 6 and 7, and the ear 22 is tumed perpendicularly with its notched portion 23 engaged as just abovedescribed, securely holds and supports said member or leaf I8,-whereby to maintain the bust portion of the garment. projected forwardly away from the form body element I, with the entire garment contoured and profiled with bust protrusion and uplift effect as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, when viewed from front, side and rear, respectively.

The form body element I may be modified in structural details of the provision for locking the bust extender member orleaf I8 in set-up operative position and also as to the means for supporting the form body element I from the hanger device 8 or such other supporting device or means which may be utilizedto suspend said element I in use.v One particular modification is illustrated in Figures 8, 9 and 10, wherein the form body element I is provided with a pair of apertured ears Ilia, each somewhat like the hereinbefore described ear I6, and each ear I6a having one of a pair of cords or tapes I2a attached thereto (seeFigure 9 for illustration) and said pair of cords or tapes I20, being used to provide a double suspension for the form body element I in some instances. In this particular modification there is also provided a pair of locking ears 22, each similar to the single ear 22 and one each being companion to the respective apertured suspending ears Ilia.

The form body element I may be further modified as illustrated in Figures 11, 12 and 13, wherein double locking means is provided for theset up bust extender member or leaf I8, and provision is made for supporting the form body element I only at one place, that is to say, a pairo-f medially disposed, vertically alined apertures 26, 21, are provided, through which the looped portion I la of the cord or tape I2 is threaded (see Figure 13) and the cord or tape is adjusted by means of the slide I4 as in the first herein described construction and arrangement illustrated in Figures 1 to 7, inclusive. In this particular modification the cutting of the outlines of the material of the form body element I to produce the locking ears 22b and the parts I617 corre sponding to the first herein described supporting ears I6 is substantially identical with that for producing the said parts I6 and 22, except that in the present modification the ears or parts IGb are not apertured, because there is no necessity for providing apertures in them inasmuch as the apertures 26, 21, are provided in the form body element proper for slidably attaching the cord or tape I2 as just above described.

In some adaptations and uses of the present invention, the bust extender element may be detachable instead of being provided as an integral part of the form body element as shownin Figures 1 to 13 inclusive. The particular'construction and arrangement of the bust extender element for detachability may be varied within the purview of the present invention. That is to say, the element may be constructed of the same character of sheet material as the form body element or else shaped from wire or narrow strip material in any obvious or approved manner. As a practical adaptation of this feature of the invention a wire structure is illustrated in Figures 14 and 15, wherein a plain, fiat, form body element la, similar to that disclosed in the inventors prior Patent No. 2,014,299, hereinbefore referred to, is utilized in the exemplification of the general broad idea, the element, as shown, being provided with a single, medially'disposed, aperture or eyelet 28 near its upper end for the slidable attachment of the looped portion Ida of the lengthwise adjustable cord or tape I2. As shown, the bust extender element, designated generally by the reference character IBa, is formed from a single piece of form-retentive wire, preferably possessing certain inherent resiliency, the opposite end portions of the wire being rebent, as at 29, to provide retaining and supporting clips for the bust extender element to engage over the adjacent upper corner portions of the form body element Ia, while two portions 30 of the wire next adjacent the clipped end portions 29 are looped forwardly with rather bro-ad curvature to produce bust extending and uplift portions proper, with a curved, recessed, portion 3| between them, as shown more clearly in Figure 14.

As to the detachability of the bust extender element, the inventive idea comprehends broadly this feature, and, obviously, many modifications thereof are contemplated within the purview of the invention as a whole, and it is further obvious that many modifications of the intgerally provided bust, extender element other than those herein specifically illustrated and described may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. So, too, the suspension of the form body element of device of the present invention is not limited to the use of the specific garment hanger element 8 as illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, but

I may be accomplished by the use of other forms and kinds of hanger elements alone or as parts of conventional or special display stands or fixtures. This invention, therefore, is not limited to the specific constructions, adaptations and applications herein shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1.- A device for displaying a garment of the character described, comprising a flat plate-like element about the lower portion of which the waist portion of the garment is folded and supportedly secured, an extender element foldably mounted and openable to a substantially right angular horizontal position on the upper portion of said plate-like element for protruding and uplifting the bust portion of the garment, a locking tab attached to said plate-like element and foldable thereon on a vertical axis, said locking tab engaging under said extender element when said extender element is in its extended operating position.

2. A device for displaying a garment of the character described, comprising a fiat plate-like element about the lower portion of which the waist portion of the garment is folded and supportedly secured, an extender element foldably mounted and openable to a substantially right angular horizontal position on the upper portion of said plate-like element for protruding and uplifting the bust portion of the garment, said extender element having an opening therein, a foldable locking tab on the plate-like element, said locking tab having a slot therein, the edge of said extender element at the opening thereof engaging the slot in said locking tab when said extender element is in its extended operating position.

3, A device for displaying a garment of the character described, comprising a flat plate-like element about the lower portion of which the waist portion of the garment is folded and supportedly secured, an extender element foldably mounted and openable to a substantially right angular horizontal position on the upper portion of said plate-like element for protruding and uplifting the bust portion of the garment, said extender element consisting of a flat plate-like member having its free outer edge formed to simulate the contour of a human bust, said extender element having an opening therein, a

foldable locking tab on the plate-like element,

said locking tab having a slot therein, the edge of said extender element at the opening thereof engaging the slot in said locking tab when said extender element is in its extended operating position.

ISAAC J. SHAFARMAN. 

